PERRYVILLE (AP) - A man who voluntarily came forward and confessed to killing three people pleaded innocent Thursday to capital murder charges in the death of a Perry County couple.

Stephen Allen Talley entered innocent pleas in Perry County District Court to charges in the June 1999 deaths of Christopher Barnes, 25, and his girlfriend Barbara Leggitt, 16.

Talley kept his head down during his brief appearance in the crowded courtroom and his attorney, Dale Adams of Little Rock, entered the pleas. Talley also pleaded innocent Monday to a capital murder charge in the 1999 death of Carson Prince of Little Rock.

Relatives and friends of the victims packed the courtroom for Talley's brief appearance. At least a half-dozen of them wore T-shirts with Leggitt's picture, and many burst into tears and embraced after the pleas were entered.

She stood next to her husband, Paul Leggitt, who held his wife up against their truck. Many of the friends and relatives said they were upset about Talley's innocent plea.

"We've been through hell for five years over this," Paul Leggitt said. "Anybody who takes a child like that, three innocent people, is not right in the head. He needs to suffer a lot more."

Talley went to the Perry County Sheriff's Office during the early morning hours of Oct. 20 and confessed to killing Prince, the daughter of former Little Rock mayor Tom Prince, and to the slayings of Barnes and Leggitt.

In his confession, Talley said he killed Barnes with a gunshot to the head so he could sexually attack Leggitt. Her body hasn't been found, but Talley told deputies where to look, and Sheriff Ray Byrd said he was confident that bones at the remote site are those of the teenager. Talley was being held without bond at the Pulaski County jail in Little Rock.

Delbert and Patty Barnes, the grandparents who raised victim Christopher Barnes, said Thursday they were relieved that Talley was in custody but said he needs to be punished.

"We just want to see that justice is done and this person is never let out on the streets again," Patty Barnes said.

The couple said they were frustrated for five years that their grandson's killer hadn't been found.

"We hoped they would find who did it," Patty Barnes said. "But still we were shocked when we found out."

Prosecutors said Talley's case would be moved to circuit court, and Talley is to be arraigned in circuit courts in each county before trial dates are set.

Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley's office is in charge of pursuing both cases; Jegley's district includes both counties. Prosecutors said the order in which the cases are tried will have to be worked out.

For now, Leggitt's family members expressed frustration about Talley's innocent pleas, but hoped that the courts would bring them justice. They said they were doing as well as they could and wanted their daughter to rest in peace.

"She feels no more pain," Paul Leggitt said through tears. "She's up in heaven."

Carson Prince died April 28, 1999, when she lunged from the passenger side of a pickup that was traveling on the Interstate 430 bridge over the Arkansas River. Talley said he'd picked up Prince after her vehicle had broken down and had intended to rape her, but she resisted.

Talley said he hit her in the head with a wrench and pointed a pistol at her when she tried to get out of his truck. He told authorities she fell out when he braked and her head hit a guardrail. He said he sped away assuming she wouldn't survive the fall.